Light and Darkness in Ancient Greek Myth and Religion

Menelaos Christopoulos (Anthology Editor) , Marion Meyer (Anthology Editor) , Olga Levaniouk (Anthology Editor) , Mercedes Aguirre (Contributor) , Richard Buxton (Contributor) , Soteroula Constantinidou (Contributor) ,
View more contributors
Light and Darkness in Ancient Greek Myth and Religion cover

Light and Darkness in Ancient Greek Myth and Religion

Menelaos Christopoulos (Anthology Editor) , Marion Meyer (Anthology Editor) , Olga Levaniouk (Anthology Editor) , Mercedes Aguirre (Contributor) , Richard Buxton (Contributor) , Soteroula Constantinidou (Contributor) ,
View more contributors
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Description

Light and darkness played an important role beyond the division of time in ancient Greek myth and religion; the contributors to Light and Darkness in Ancient Greek Myth and Religion consider its function on both the individual and social level as manifested in modes of thought and behavior and expressed in language, beliefs, ritual, and iconography. The book is divided into five parts: color semantics, appearance and concealment, eye sight/insight, being and beyond, and cult. Each subdivision contains a wealth of information for the reader, ranging from detailed explanations of the interplay between lexical categories that denote darkness and light and the effect of blindness on metaphysical matters to the qualities of cultic light. This unique volume will be of interest to readers in fields as diverse as ancient Greek history, metaphysics, and iconography.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Introduction
Part 3 Colour Semantics
Chapter 4 Chapter 1. The Significance (or Insignificance) of Blackness in Mythological Names
Chapter 5 Chapter 2. Dark Skin and Dark Deeds; Danaides and Aigyptioi in a Culture of Light
Chapter 6 Chapter 3. Brightness and Darkness in Pindar's Pythian 3: Aigla-Coronis-Arsinoe and her Initiatory Experience
Chapter 7 Chapter 4. S-light Anomaly; Dark Brightness in Euripides' Medea
Part 8 Appearance and Concealment
Chapter 9 Chapter 5. The Light Imagery of Divine Manifestation in Homer
Chapter 10 Chapter 6. Trojan Night
Chapter 11 Chapter 7. Tithonus and Phaon. Mythical Allegories of Light and Darkness in Sappho's Poetry
Chapter 12 Chapter 8. Erinyes as Creatures of Darkness
Chapter 13 Chapter 9. Hephaistos: God of Light
Part 14 Eye-sight/Insight
Chapter 15 Chapter 10. Blind People and Blindness in Ancient Greek Myth
Chapter 16 Chapter 11. Blindness as Punishment
Part 17 Being and Beyond
Chapter 18 Chapter 12. Light and Darkness and Archaic Cosmogony
Chapter 19 Chapter 13. Mystic Light and Near-Death Experience
Chapter 20 Chapter 14. Dark Winged Nyx and Bright Winged Eros in Aristophanes' "Orphic" Cosmogony: The Birds, 693-703
Chapter 21 Chapter 15. The Bright Cypress of the Orphic Golden Tablets: Direction and Illumination in Myths of the Underworld
Chapter 22 Chapter 16. Milk on Pelinna Tomb Tablets
Part 23 Cult
Chapter 24 Chapter 17. Light and Darkness in Dionysiac Rituals as Illustrated on Attic Vase Paintings of the 5th century BC
Chapter 25 Chapter 18. Light and Lighting Equipment in the Eleusinian Mysteries: Symbolism and Ritual Use
Chapter 26 Chapter 19. Magic Lamps, Luminous Dreams: Lamps in PGM Recipes

Product details

Published Sep 25 2010
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 324
ISBN 9780739139011
Imprint Lexington Books
Series Greek Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

MC
Anthology Editor

Menelaos Christopoulos

MM
Anthology Editor

Marion Meyer

OL
Anthology Editor

Olga Levaniouk

MA
Contributor

Mercedes Aguirre

RB
Contributor

Richard Buxton

SC
Contributor

Soteroula Constantinidou

KD
Contributor

Ken Dowden

RE
Contributor

Radcliffe G. Edmonds

AG
Contributor

Ariadni Gartziou-Tatti

DI
Contributor

Daniel Iakov

EK
Contributor

Efimia D. Karakantza

FL
Contributor

Françoise Létoublon

AM
Contributor

Avgi Maggel

NM
Contributor

Nanno Marinatos

DP
Contributor

Dimitris Paleothodoros

IP
Contributor

Ioanna Patera

IR
Contributor

Isabelle Ratinaud

RS
Contributor

Richard Seaford

SS
Contributor

Spyros Syropoulos

ET
Contributor

Evanthia Tsitsibakou-Vasalos

AZ
Contributor

Athanassia Zografou

Reviews

  • A beautiful bunch of manifold studies, which lets us grasp the issue of light and darkness within the Greek world under several aspects and explore its very complexity.

    Vinciane Pirenne, Université de Liège

  • Light and Darkness in Ancient Greek Myth and Religion is an instructive and stimulating collection of authoritative essays on the semiotics and symbolism, the ritual, cosmological, social, and spiritual dimensions of light and darkness in ancient Greece. The editors draw on a wide range of literary, anthropological, religious, and historical scholarship to break new ground in the interpretation of Greek culture.

    Seth L. Schein, University of California at Davis

  • This is a productive and welcome contribution to an under explored field, particularly in bringing the work of Greek scholars to an English-speaking audience....The index is useful, while extensive endnoting renders references unobtrusive to the casual reader, but valuable to the researcher. Overall, it is a physically and intellectually solid volume, well worth its price, and of more general interest than the title perhaps suggests.

    Bryn Mawr Classical Review

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